A series of evening supper-seminars, launched as a voluntary extracurricular educational experience, were used to teach one aspect of community medicine in an informal setting at the University of Arizona. The area addressed was community medicine as an interface between medical practitioners and community activities and organizations concerned…

A study in a medical center investigated the feasibility of primary care practices combining internal medicine and pediatrics residencies. Equally divided among children and adults, the patients had sought specialists and were highly satisfied. The physicians had appeal particularly to young upper-middle class patients. (Author/MSE)

In three decades, the osteopathic profession has moved from primarily manipulative therapy to full-service health care, replacing primary care emphasis with specialization. The profession should return to its original mission of primary care, establish links with allopathic medicine, and support new national policy for primary health care.…

One reason medical students favor specialization over generalist medicine (primary care) is a perception of generalist medicine as nonrigorous. Chaos science, a new field, reveals an intellectual basis for generalist medicine. The history, strengths, and limits of reductionist thinking in medicine and aspects of chaos theory illuminate this…

In the University of South Dakota's medical school clerkship program, students may choose one of three ambulatory-care settings. In one, the curriculum is problem based and student centered to enhance student interest in primary care. The new program has been successful and well received and is being further developed. (MSE)

A study evaluated the effects of a required ambulatory care clerkship on students' (n=776) knowledge of primary care medicine and subsequent career choices. Results suggest that exposure to outpatient medicine during medical school facilitates student knowledge of primary care medicine and influences career choice. (Author/MSE)

Ideas for integrating preventive medicine into the undergraduate medical curriculum include options for curricula in quantitative skills, clinical preventive medicine, primary care rotation, community health services, and independent continuing education. Recommendations are based on a guide assessing the effectiveness of 169 types of preventive…

A survey of faculty (n=223) and students (n=157) in two different curriculum tracks (problem-based/student-centered primary care vs. regular) at one medical school gathered opinions on the methods and criteria of student evaluation. Differences occurred primarily in the perceptions of first- and second-year students in the problem-based…

This article briefly describes the four-year primary care program (beginning in the senior year of medical school and sponsored by the departments of internal medicine and family medicine) offered at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine. Preliminary evidence indicates that the seven students and residents enrolled are…

Ways to improve the training of undergraduate medical students in primary health care are identified, based on a seminar organized by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe and the Government of the United Kingdom. Primary health care is concerned with preventing and treating illness and promoting health, based on applying…

A collaborative summer program by the University of Washington medical school, a professional association, and regional and state agencies provides students with an early introduction to community medicine in rural and urban underserved areas. Students (n=74) have been extremely satisfied. Suggestions are made for identifying potential program…

This collection of 34 papers from various nations reflects the state of the art in the development of community-based medical educational programs. Papers are grouped into the following topical areas: (1) community-oriented education, (2) evaluation, (3) innovation and change, (4) problem-based learning, (5) administration of education, and (6)…

This report presents recommendations of the Pew Health Professions Commission regarding changes in health care education. It identifies 17 competencies that practitioners should be prepared for by the year 2005. Recommendations include: expand access to effective care; provide contemporary clinical care; emphasize primary care; participate in…

This volume is part of a series of 18 monographs on service learning and the academic disciplines. Essays in this volume focus on understanding how service-learning in medical education differs from traditional clinical medical education. After an Introduction by Sarena D. Seifer, Kris Hermanns, and Judy Lewis, essays in Part 1, "The Broader…